Alastair Cook
Age: 28 Tests: 97
Batting Average: 47.85 Cook received plenty of criticism during the summer, both for his decision-making and his batting, but England won the Ashes nonetheless. Hopefully a return Down Under will reignite the imperious form of his last trip to Australia, when he racked up 766 runs over five tests. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
James Anderson
Age: 31 Tests: 87
Bowling Average: 30.11 Trent Bridge apart, Anderson was not at his best in the summer series, but will be crucial to England’s success in Australia. The 2010/11 series is remembered mainly for England’s batting displays, but Anderson also played a key role, taking 25 Australian wickets. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images
Jonny Bairstow
Age: 23 Tests: 12
Batting Average: 30.22M Faces a fight to keep his place after struggling in the recent series - almost every time he looked like he was just about to get in, he found a way to get himself out, and was dropped for the fifth test. But he has retained the faith of the selectors, partly because he also serves as as the back-up wicket-keeper. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Gary Ballance
Age: 23 Tests: 0
Batting Average: n/a Rewarded for his form at county level and performances with the Lions, he only made his ODI debut earlier this month. Will look to put pressure on Jonny Bairstow for the No6 batting slot. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Ian Bell
Age: 31 Tests: 93
Batting Average: 46.66 The star of the summer; without him, the Ashes might even have been lost, and he carried the team when Cook, Joe Root and Jonathan Trott all failed. According to Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann, he responded to good bowling better than any other batsman. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
Stuart Broad
Age: 27 Tests: 62
Bowling Average: 30.58 His Ashes series in England essentially boiled down to two key contributions: when he stood his ground after being caught in the slips at Trent Bridge, and his destruction of Australia at Chester-le-Street. The former has ensured that in Australia, Broad will be public enemy No1, booed in the same way that David Warner was here, but if he can harness that vitriol and use it to his advantage, he could be England’s key man. Photograph: Tom Jenkins
Michael Carberry
Age: 32 Tests: 1
Batting Average: 32 Just the one Test so far for Carberry - he made 64 runs in Bangladesh in 2010. Will travel as cover for England's established openers. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Steven Finn
Age: 24 Tests: 23
Bowling Average: 29.40 After a disappointing start to the recent series, he was dropped for its remainder, but he did take 14 wickets in just three Tests last time England visited Australia, and with Bresnan injured, Finn is a genuine option for selection, though faces competition from Boyd Rankin and Chris Tremlett.
Photograph: Michael Bradley/AFP/Getty Images
Monty Panesar
Age: 31. Tests: 48
Bowling Average: 33.78 Regardless of his difficulties in the past few months the statistics show he is England’s second best spinner by a long way. It's unlikely that England will field two spinners, even in Sydney, so is travelling principally to cover Graeme Swann. Photograph: Scott Heavey/Getty Images
Kevin Pietersen
Age: 33 Tests: 99
Batting Average: 48.38 A calming influence alongside Bell in recent Tests, and made crucial contributions at Trent Bridge, Old Trafford and Chester-le-Street. He is now England’s highest scoring batsman across all forms of the game, and his is still the wicket opposition teams prize most. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Matt Prior
Age: 31 Tests: 72
Batting Average: 42.36 Voted England's player of the year for 2012-13, Prior's form deserted him subsequently, and he failed to make a single half-century in the recent series. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Boyd Rankin
Age: 29 Tests: 0
Bowling Average: n/a The uncapped Rankin switched allegiance from Ireland to England last year, hoping to play Test cricket, and following promising performances for the Lions and in one-day cricket, he has been rewarded with a place on tour, to compete withFinn and Tremlett for a place in the starting XI. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Joe Root
Age: 22 Tests: 11
Batting Average: 40.15 If you take away Root’s 180 at Lord’s, he averaged just under 20 for the series against Australia. But the selectors have jettisoned Nick Compton for good, and Root will hope for a more consistent series in Australia, where the pitches may be more conducive to his back foot game. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Ben Stokes
Age: 22 Tests: 0
Batting Average: n/a One three uncapped players in the touring party, and a man who England hope will mature into a genuine Test all-rounder, he impressed at various points of the recent one-day series. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Graeme Swann
Age: 34 Tests: 57
Bowling Average: 28.55 England’s most successful bowler in the recent series, taking 26 wickets. though is unlikely to find pitches to suit him in Australia. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images
Chris Tremlett
Age: 32 Tests: 11
Bowling Average: 26.75 Tremlett was disappointed not to be included for any of the recent series, particularly when Chris Woakes and Simon Kerrigan were given opportunities at the Oval. Took the final wicket of the series in 2010/11 Ashes, and his pace and bounce are a handful, particularly on hard tracks. Photograph: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Jonathan Trott
Age: 32 Tests: 48
Batting Average: 47.39 Usually reliable, he disappointed in the recent series. Like Cook, he did not get the runs he would have anticipated; unlike Cook he did not have the pressures of captaincy. Lehmann has increased the tension by reiterating that Australia are convinced they have worked Trott out. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
